“I don’t think you really want your local officers stopping people to determine whether they are here legally or not. I don’t think you want that. When we get into that kind of business it really causes a breakdown of that trust and respect that we need. Community policing has made communities more safe.”

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles–for the four straight years, the city of El Paso has been ranked as the safest of its size in the country, despite its proximity to the border.

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Immigration issues are the purview of the federal government, however with Congress’ inability to pass immigration reform states have increasingly began legislating in the area of immigration. The Senate Hispanic Caucus has consistently been opposed to policies that encourage the potentially illegal enforcement of federal immigration laws by local or state law enforcement. The Senate Hispanic Caucus continues to encourage Congress to pass immigration reform that will fix our broken immigration system. We will continue to work with the statewide coalitions of business leaders, border city leaders, student, teachers, civil rights leaders, faith based organizations, and law enforcement on policies that impact immigrants of all statuses in Texas. For more information on these coalitions and the policies they recommend check out the links below.

For more information on giving more civically engaged and on the major policies affecting the Voting Rights of minorities in Texas please visit: